While just one in 10 reviews reported homes as being poor or bad five years ago, the number has now soared to one in four. The charity AgeUK said people now needed to be 'jolly lucky' to recieve good care.

Families complained about inadequately trained staff who did not know how to lift patients or care for those with dementia, as well as problems with hygiene and the dispensing of medication.

People who needed care in their own homes also complained of rushed or cancelled visits, rude staff and poor timekeeping. A daughter of a woman with Alzheimer’s said that her mother had been left without food for nine hours after care workers failed to turn up.

AgeUK said elderly people had to be 'jolly lucky' to find a good care home

“One carer actually spend a bedtime visit arguing with her boyfriend on her mobile phone rather than helping mum to bed,” she added.

One family complained there mother’s help buzzer had been placed out of reach so she could not call for help, while others said that complaints of abuse had been ignored.

One reviewer advised: “Think very carefully before putting a relative in a care home.”

Stephen Burke, director of Good Care Guide and director of United for All Ages, said: “Poor reviews for care for older people reflect the growing concerns about the funding of care and the care crisis.

“With our ageing population and more older people needing care at home, it’s critical that families can access home care services they can rely on.

“As government puts more of the responsibility onto families for providing and paying for care for older people, we expect their reviews to get even tougher about the quality of care. We must learn from what families think about care.”

Many people complained that care workers did not turn up on time or not at all, leaving people hungry

More than two-fifths of reviews of home care agencies in 2016 rated them as poor or bad for quality of service and for value for money.

Caroline Abrahams, director of AgeUK said: "There have been warnings that we were reaching a tipping point in social care and it feels like we have just gone over it.

"There are people out there who are getting good care, but you have to be jolly lucky.

"It's clear that the care system needs an emergency injection of money and the government needs to pull its finger out and recognise how bad things really are.

"Nobody wants to say 'we told you so' but this is completely what we were expecting."

The analysis of 9,000 reviews also found that standards at nurseries were declining. In 2012 88 per cent of reviews rated nurseries as good or excellent, but that dropped to 82 per cent in 2012.

The number of 'bad' or 'poor' nurseries also increased

The number of nurseries rated as poor or bad value for money also increased from nine per cent to 12.8 per cent last year.

“There are a lot of changes ahead for childcare in 2017. The government is extending free childcare to thirty hours a week for three and four-year-olds and introducing childcare tax breaks.

“These changes will create challenges for childcare providers and for parents. The extra government funding for childcare must be used to help more parents get into and stay in work. Feedback from families will show what difference is being made.”

A Department of Health spokesman said: "We recognise the pressures of an ageing population on our adult social care services - that's why it's pleasing that the CQC has recently rated the majority of adult social care as good or outstanding.

"Many councils are already providing high-quality social care services and timely assessments and we will continue to challenge those that are failing to do so".